Stonewall Federation
The Stonewall Federation, commonly referred to as the Federation, was a constitutional republic made up of sixteen worlds within the Stonewall System, the Arx System, the Quant System, and several other systems, along with three territories on Earth. The Federation government was based on the planet Stonewall, in Stonewall City, in the Stonewall System. The Stonewall Federation was preceded by two predecessor governments. The most recent was the Stonewall Republic, which existed for about seven years before being replaced by the Federation. The other predecessor government was the Confederate States of America, which existed for about 148 years before being replaced by the Stonewall Republic. The Federation is governed by a constitution and is steeped in civil liberties including freedom of speech, religion, ownership of firearms, and many more rights. It is home to three Force Orders, two of which are not government run; the New Sith Order and Confederate Jedi Order. The other Force Order is the Federation Knights, who serve the Chancellor and enforce the constitution and Federation law. The Stonewall Federation was a member of multiple alliances, including the Galactic Empire, the United Imperan Directorate, and the Barlat Concordiat. Jedi Master Aden Fader held military positions in the Galactic Empire, while other members of the Federation held political offices in the Uniteed Imperan Directorate. Government The Stonewall Federation's governmental structure was set up similar to that of the United States and Confederate States. It is made up of three separate branches that check each other to prevent one from becoming too powerful. The branches are the following: *The Executive Branch *The Judicial Branch *The Legislative Branch Legislative Branch The Legislative Branch is bicameral; made up of two houses-the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate is made up of two senators from each member State (a state being defined as world who is a member of the Federation, or a territory on a planet that is not apart of the Federation), which is currently thirty-eight senators. The House of Representatives is made up of 5,000 representatives: currently one for each 3.7 million persons. All bills concerning revenue must begin and pass in the House before passing on to the Senate. Additionally, the Senate is the only house able to ratify treaties brought to them by the Chancellor and to ratify the Chancellor's appointments to specific offices. Representatives serve two year terms while senators serve six year terms. Executive Branch The Executive Branch is headed by the Chancellor, who is responsible for being the head of state, head of government and commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. The Chancellor effectively executes all federation law. The Chancellor also is responsible for the negotiation of treaties before the Senate ratifies them. Additionally, he or she must sign any legislation approved by Congress into law before it becomes law in the federation. He or she has the power of line item veto, something the Stonewall Republic executive could not do previously. The Chancellor serves a six year term. In order to be elected, a person must have been born in the Stonewall Federation and has attained the age of 30 years. At its founding, the constitution required the Chancellor be elected from the neutral Force users, the Federation Knights. After further discontent with Force users throughout the federation, an amendment was added to change the requirements. The first Chancellor was Abban, who was the founder of the Federation Knights, who resigned in November of 11 NE. The senator respresenting the planet Lee, Theodore Jackson, was elected to fulfill the remaining 38 months of Abban's term prior to the transitional elections to the official government. Chancellors of the Stonewall Federation *'Chancellor Abban:' January 11 NE-November 11 NE (provisional government) *'Chancellor Theodore Jackson:' November 11 NE-20 NE (provisional government until 12 NE, official after) *'Chancellor Danny Biar: '''September 20 NE - September 26 NE *'Chancellor Sebrina Chalotse:' September 26 NE - ? *'Chancellor Keller Fader: 299 NE-? Judicial Branch The Judicial Branch is made up of the Supreme Court, which is made up of seven Justices appointed by the Chancellor and approved by the Senate. Commonly referred to as "our last bastion of constitutionality", the Supreme Court interprets the Constitution and makes rulings based on that. It's primary responsibility is to correct abuse by the government, especially with civil liberties, by its rulings. Justices serve life long terms. Federation-State Government Relations The relationship between the federal government and state governments was an interesting one. Initially, the relationship was set up so each "state" (a member of the Federation, i.e. Confederate-American Empire) was represented by two senators in the senate. The Federation would have ships stationed at each state's capitol in order to protect it from attacks. However, in late 11 NE, a constitutional amendment was proposed in the Senate that would allow for two senators from each planet that contained a member or members. There was some opposition, mainly from Earth members, however the amendment never passed. This would have brought the number of senators from fourteen to eighteen. Instead, an amendment was proposed, and later ratified, that would required two senators from each planetary member, or from each territory that was located on a planet that was not a member of the Federation. This amendment redefined the meaning of "State" in the Constitution and brought the current number of senators from 14 to 38 in number. Member Planets #Stonewall #Lee #Hill #Davis #Bane #Revan #Ruin #Cheatham #Cleburne #Bragg #Hardee #Quantrill #Wirz #Semmes #Ramseur #Thalassinus Territory Members #Stonewall Muhr (Granted independence 20 NE) #Stonewall Aelian Stornkold (Granted Independence 20 NE) #Confederate States of America Military The military was formally formed through the Military Revitalization Act of 12 NE, signed into law by Chancellor Theodore Jackson. Federation High Command was established with two branches under its command: the Stonewall Federation Terrestrial Division (SFTD) and the Stonewall Federation Space Corps (SFSC). A Supreme Commander position was created, who would command the military as a whole and reported to the Chancellor. The first Supreme Commander was former Admiral William Bedford Forrest. Stonewall Federation Terrestrial Division (SFTD) The SFTD was one of two subdivisions of the Stonewall Federation Armed Forces (SFAF) that included the Army (SFTDA) and Oceanic Navy (SFTDON). The Army was primarily made up of Federation Troopers that were armored and carried a standard blaster rifle. The Oceanic Navy was made up of water faring ships, mostly destroyer classes and carrier classes. Stonewall Federation Space Corps (SFSC) The SFSC was one of the subdivisions of the Stonewall Federation Armed Forces (SFAF) that was made up of space-faring warships. It was divided into two subcategories, each headed by a separate admiral:the SFSC Offensive Fleet and the SFSC Defensive Fleet. This division was later changed and combined the two divisions into one. National Flags The First National Flag took its colors from the Stonewall Republic's flag, with the same style as the C.S.A.'s flag. The red stood for revolution and the black for determination and defeat of enemies. While many in the Federation had no problem with the design, some felt it was a reminder of "a bygone era of tyranny". This flag was the national flag for a year before legislation was introduced to change it. The Second National Flag combined more than three colors, a first in the history of the Confederate States, Stonewall Republic, and Stonewall Federation. The four bars of color stood for each of the "Founder Planets" that initially founded both the Stonewall Republic and Stonewall Federation. Davis's contributing color was blue, for justice, Hill's contributing color yellow, for justice, Lee's contributing color black, for determination, and Stonewall's contributing color red, for revolution and courage. However, with the flag changed, some opposed it because they felt the federation was forgetting the mistakes of the past under the republic. The Third Federation Flag reverted back to the standard First National Flag, except six stars were added to represent all 19 member states. This came shortly after the UCP Crisis. There was some controversy over reverting back to the same color scheme of the First National Flag. Some preferred for a light blue color to replace the red color on the field behind the stars and change the stars to white. Many felt the color scheme was a sign of a rowdy past and encourage rebellion and secession from the Federation. Supports ignored the criticisms and went ahead and submitted the design to Congress. Both houses approved the flag and it is the current flag of the Federation. The Fourth Federation Flag took on a similar style to to the Second Federation Flag, however instead of a yellow bar near the top, it was exchanged for a white bar. It featured four horizontal bars of differing colors to represent the four original colonies, a bird-like insignia above fifteen circles of varying size. The fifteen circles represent a planet within the Federation, all united under a central government on Stonewall, which is what the bird like structure represents. The flag features the three original patriotic colors (red, white, black) of the Federation, however blue was added. It was preferred to not use stars, since it was very similar to the new Stonewall Republic's flag and the government wanted a new patriotic direction. The Congress approved the new flag in 20 NE, and the Chancellor signed it into law in February of 20 NE. However, many residents still chose to fly the Third National Flag. Battle Flags The Stonewall Federation was unique in having battle flags. This dated back to the original Confederate States of America, who established a separate Battle Flag for their military during the Secessionist War against the United States in 148 BNE. The Federation followed this tradition and had two Battle Flags; one for the Stonewall Federation Space Corps and one for the Stonewall Federation Terrestrial Division. The Stonewall Federation Terrestrial Division's battle flag was very similar to that of the Confederate States, except it had a different color scheme to it. A Southern Cross is made with two red stripes with a line of stars on each stripe, all on a black background. The Stonewall Federation Space Corps' battle flag was similar to the SFTD's flag, except instead of red stripes with stars, it had black stripes with stars and a navy blue background. This flag was flown above every flagship in the fleet, along with any Fleet HQ station either in orbit or on the ground. Some in Congress made a push several years ago to have battle flags completely abolished and switch to strictly the national flag. This argument was refuted by stating that would blur the line between military style government and civilian government. The Battle Flags flew over military buildings and vessels, while the National Flag flew over civilian government buildings. History Traitorous Ideas "The SIR has truly failed in its entire mission to be a true democracy; this is why it must be dismantled...quickly." '''--Aden Fader to Admiral Forrest in mid 10 NE During the second year of the Second Confederate War, it was learned by Admiral William Forrest during his reign as Commander in Chief of the Stonewall Republic that Robert Stanforth had created the Republic for his own ends. He had planned before his supposed death above Earth and the war to concentrate his power as Commander in Chief through loopholes in the constitution to declare himself emperor. It was speculated by scholars that this was the sole reason Stanforth created the Republic before the First Confederate War. When Jedi Master Aden Fader learned of this through Forrest, he was appalled at the information. In response, he proposed a federation style of government with a strict constitution to regulate the government. After convincing Forrest of this argument, plans went into effect to gain as much support as possible in the Senate. Although the Senate would not vote to dissolve the Republic for at least another seven months, many of its members were easily swayed to support the dissolution of the corrupt republic. The only problem lay with convincing the Stanforth Loyalists and populace that this was a good idea. Rebellion and Formation "We the People of a war torn galaxy hereby declare a federation between our several member States to protect the People, to secure unalienable rights for the People, to secure Liberty for the People, and to allow the pursuit of Happiness for the People. This federation shall be known as the Stonewall Federation, and shall not crumble like its predecessor due to tyranny." --The Preamble of the Stonewall Federation Constitution Main article: Second Confederate War By December of 10 NE, Stanforth reemerged secretly and it was discovered he had been working with Sith inside the CAE who were opposed to it's emperor's idea of a compromise. Darth Labrusca was the main leader of the rebellion in the Confederate-American Empire throughout the war. Eventually, she would attack Darth Atra, the CAE Emperor, in an attempt to take over his empire and merge it with the Stonewall Independent Republic to form a new super-empire:the Stonewall Imperial Confederation. When her attempt failed on Atra, she fled to Lee in the Stonewall System, then-capital of the SIR. Simultaneously, assassinations were attempted on Darth Atrumcavus, leader of the Hassarkian Consortium, and Admiral Forrest, then leader of the SIR. This all failed, with the assassins eventually meeting on Lee to concentrate their forces and attempt to put Stanforth back in power of the SIR. The Stanforth Loyalists and many rogue Sith attacked the Stonewall Militiamen and Forrest and Jedi. Eventually, Atra and other "enemies" of the SIR put down the rebellion, allowing for the Stonewall Peace Accords to take place. While these took place, six planets and territories met to write a new Constitution for the Stonewall Federation. By this time, the Republic Senate had voted to dissolve the Stonewall Republic and form the Stonewall Federation. The United Confederate Planets Crisis Sometime in 12 NE, tension continued building as it had for six months over a new Chancellor, Theodore Jackson, who was both sympathetic to the Jedi and believed in keeping planets in line with the Federation government. This caused both Davis and Lee to rebel at separate times, however both were put down fairly quickly. Planetary members Cleburne, Cheathem, and Bragg formed a confederacy-style government known as the "United Confederate Planets" and declared independence from the Federation government abruptly. This move caught the galactic government off guard, as there had been no rumour that the three planets would rebel. In February, over fifty-thousand ships were deployed to blockade the three planets in rebellion by Supreme Commander William Bedford Forrest and Chancellor Jackson. It was expected that Davis, Lee, and possibly Semmes would join the UCP at that point Dissolution Main aritcle: Imperium War '' ''**NON-CANON** In 600 NE, an unknown Sith Lord took power as Chancellor and dissolved the Stonewall Federation, establishing the Stonewall Imperium. Politics The Federation has its own share of political parties. Although mainly a two-party system between Conservative Party and Liberal Party candidates, various third parties have sprung up and won signficant victories. 'Federation Whig Party (FW or F)' Although founded in early 11 NE, the Whig Party can be dated back to the Confederate States, where they were the primary party in power. The Federation Whig Party believes in a strong military, which should recieve the most funding in the budget. The Whigs oppose any sort of measure to create a "one state" idea where individual state governments are eliminated, allowing the Federation government to control all matters. In addition, the Whigs oppose any sort of legislation to restrict firearm ownership. Currently, the Whigs hold no political position other than the Chancellor's office under Theodore Jackson and 40% of the seats in the House. 'Liberal Party (LP)' The Liberal Party (LP) was established in 4 NE after the conclusion of the Second Confederate War. The Liberals believe that the Federation government should hold most of the power over the states in an effort to better all. The Liberals strictly oppose any expansion of the military or armed services, in fact, they favor downsizing it drastically. The Liberals support any legislation to require firearms registration and restriction of ownership of certain firearms. They believe that strict financial regulations are needed in order to keep the economy benefiting all. The Liberal Party currently holds four seats in the Senate and 20% of seats in the House. 'Conservative Party ©' The Conservative Party (CP or C) was established previous to 4 NE in the Confederate States of America. Initially a party that was considered a "rightist" party, the CP has moved to the centrist right spectrum. The Conservative Party is in favor of a "one state" idea, similar to the Liberal Party. In addition, they support keeping the military at its current numbers, neither downsizing or expanding. As for firearms, the Conservative Party believes in unrestricted firearms for law abiding citizens except for any fully automatic firearm. They support a registration of firearms. The CP believes in a strict hands off approach in regards to the economy. The CP currently holds three seats in the Senate and 20% of the seats in the House. 'Republican Party ®' The Republican Party was founded in 4 NE as what would be considered a moderate right party. The Republicans are opposed to any sort of "one state" idea within the Federation, believing that all power is derived from states' government and the people. The Republicans believe that a strong military is needed in order to prevent another round of the Confederate Wars. The Republicans oppose any sort of firearm registry but support a ban on fully automatic firearms and support free ownership of firearms. The Republicans believe that few financial regulations are needed for the economy. The Republicans currently hold seven seats in the Senate and twenty percent of seats in the House. Category:Stonewall Federation Category:Galactic Empire